Florida Panthers: Five questions concerning the team

All we care about are two things this year, and failing to reach both will be a major disappointment:

1) Re-sign Bouw.

2) Make the playoffs.

Not necessarily in that order.

A darn good analysis of the Panthers. The Panthers Defense will be one of the best in the Eastern Conference. There is no weakness in their two top goalies or their blue line defense. Rather, the question with this team is the offense. The new Coach, DeBoer, will be excellent I think in motivating the players and getting them to play aggressively. The question is, will Horton and the offense step up? I certainly hope so. I am really looking forward to an exciting season of Panthers hockey. GM Martni has done a good job in the off-season making this team a better team. I've got my season tickets and I can't wait for the puck to drop.

I have a question. What happens when Horton gets injured? Does that officially mean the season is over?

I'm not too sold on resigning Bouw. He obviously doesn't want to be here, and I give him credit for being a pro about it, but it's obvious that the Panthers will not keep him. Maybe playing with McCabe, Stillman, etc., and playing for DeBoer will change his mind, but I doubt it. Therefore they have to make the best trade for the team.

I think that with the upgraded D the Panthers have, a trade can be made any time after the first month or so, the sooner the better. The D will be reduced but should still be very good, and the scoring Bouw is traded for could be enjoyed for more of the season.

With the Dolphins already in the tank, I'm ready to have my heart broken next by the Panthers...bring on another disappointing season!

What's so exciting about a good defense? The team will not allow more than two goals per game, so what? they won't score more than one goal per game.
We are up for another losing season, and it will be like that until new onwership and management take over and bring a winning attitude to the organization.
I want the the team to succeed, but nothing in the last 8 years and the last off-season give me reason to believe they will.

They're counting on the youth "stepping up" but when has the Panthers' youth ever "stepped up" (Exactly why they're in this predicement). I agree the defense will be one of the best in the League but that just means they'll lose a lot of games 1-0 (Makes for a fun game to watch). The team will fall out of the race early and then Martin will be fired and we'll be onto another rebuilding effort which makes the Panthers one of the most consistent organizations in the league. They consistently miss the playoffs, they consistently rebuild and they consistently give away free tickets to the games. More of the same from a horribly run and mismanaged organization. The are the Marlins of the NHL!

God, I'm so glad I don't live down there anymore. What a bunch of whining bitches you guys are.

Just remember Jokinen may have scored goals but despite the amount of goals he scored he was I think minus 19 last year, and this doesn't include powerplay goals so he was a liability whenever he was on the ice.

The team will miss the playoffs again. Total disarray

The Panthers should make the playoffs this year. They are a much improved team. The defense is awesome and defense wins games. By the way, Cullimore is also back skating with the Panthers. The D is so loaded. Great opportunity for some offensive stars to shine. This is going to be a fun season as a Panthers fan.

If they were the Marlins of the NHL, they would have 2 Stanley Cups! Would anyone have a problem with this organization if they won 2 Stanley Cups in the last 10 years like the Marlins have won 2 World Series? I doubt it.

Let's see where this team is at Christmas. If there out of it, they deserve the criticism. If their in it, then lets support them. With the way things have been down here lately (outside of the Heat championship 2 years ago...seems so long ago), we could use a team that at least makes a run at the playoffs. Right now, I would settle for the 8th seed.

barry3341 wrote:

They're counting on the youth "stepping up" but when has the Panthers' youth ever "stepped up" (Exactly why they're in this predicement). I agree the defense will be one of the best in the League but that just means they'll lose a lot of games 1-0 (Makes for a fun game to watch). The team will fall out of the race early and then Martin will be fired and we'll be onto another rebuilding effort which makes the Panthers one of the most consistent organizations in the league. They consistently miss the playoffs, they consistently rebuild and they consistently give away free tickets to the games. More of the same from a horribly run and mismanaged organization. The are the Marlins of the NHL!

rod gilbert wrote:

Just remember Jokinen may have scored goals but despite the amount of goals he scored he was I think minus 19 last year, and this doesn't include powerplay goals so he was a liability whenever he was on the ice.

If we're going to call Jokinen a defensive liability how about we call everyone else an OFFENSIVE liability to boot. In fact, I can think of a good handfull of players that were just plain ol' liabilities on the ice. If after this season Jokinen is even in the minus at all and the panthers make the playoff then I'll be totally cool with throwing him under the bus but until then lets just assume his problems mirrored the entire teams problems.

These know nothings love to throw Olli under the bus. Yeah he was -19 last year but that was playing with inferior linemates and having JM stabbing him in back all year. He was something like a combined +32 the previous 2 seasons but the sheep on here don't like to let the facts get in the way.

My main concern is how our #2 line from last year is supposed to magically turn into a #1 line this year just because Olli got traded.
Both Weiss and Horton scored fewer goals last year than the year before. Weiss is NOT a #1 center. He simply can't put up enough points plus he is injury prone. This team is paper thin down the middle especially if Weiss goes down again.

I predict the Panthers will flirt with the #8 spot all year but miss the playoffs again. For the them to make the playoffs they are going to have to get off to a fast start and get some offense when the time comes to trade Bouwmeester away.

I see a slow start, a lot of 2-1 3-2 games. Once the team gets into DeBoer's system, the offense will pick up. This team is much better suited to a skating game than a defensive counter punching team. As for offense, I expect to see Weiss, Booth and Horton be more productive. Combine that with Stillman and Zednik, an improved powerplay. I predict the Panthers will make the playoffs as the 6-8 seed.
of course, if I was a hockey genius, I wouldn't be digging ditches for a living.

No playoffs for your Panthers..
It may be a fantasy or dream by playoff starved fans, but you have little, to be happy about..
You trade good players who for the most part excel after they leave that organization..
You bring in players in the twilight of there careers, who just want to Golf, Fish, and enjoy south Florida, at the owners expense..Even those players do better aster they leave the Panthers..
Sorry guys, it is just not going to happen under the current philosophy

We should start the year a lot tougher in our defensive zone but not nessesarily better. We have aquired meaner, harder hitters but both Boynton and McCabe have serious turnover and injury issues. The Ballard signing for 6 yrs might turn out to be a great success but the Panthers have the worst record of signing players that don't live up to "potential" or dramatically fall off from previous preformance, so pardon me for waiting a few months into the season before I'll embrace it.

I'm not sold on the toughness of the defensive corp. Lots of good puck movers but a few guys just aren't physical enough.

The real problem I have with the Panthers is that they seam to have failed 2nd grade math. For as exciting and dynamic as the game is, statistics are the tangible way to determine if a player or team is getting better or worse. The stats of both players and teams can often get worse dramatically and quickly because there are so many things that can occur to make a player or team worse. It is possible for a players stats to improve but they usually improve based on their prior statistical trajectory...not some "miracle" skyrocket of 100 or 200%. So the idea that Horton is going to improve his point total by 50% or that Weiss, Booth, Olesz are going to improve by 100-300% is ridiculous. Assuming that even if they did improve at that rate, it would merely make up for the points lost by trading Olli away, it won't actually give them any "new" points. So this is where I see the failure in second grade math- the Panthers needed to make all these improvements to the team AND either still have Olli or have replace his points with an acquired player of equal statistical capability. Someone like Gaborik to replace Olli would at least make the "math" make sense for the Panthers but thinking that there will be a sudden remarkable improvement from guys like Campbell, Devo, Pelts, McLean or that Stewart will become the next Shannahan are all just wishful thinking.

RED BARON wrote:

I have a question. What happens when Horton gets injured? Does that officially mean the season is over?

Yes, the NHL will then cancel ALL the games as well as the presidential election, NUMBSKULL!!